1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of head mounts for holding a device on the head of a user. More particularly, the invention relates to a hands-free head mount for an electronic display unit.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Conventional carrier devices are known. They serve, for example, to display electronic games, so that the user, without having to use a large monitor, can place a small monitor in the form of the electronic display unit before his or her eyes, in a manner similar to wearing a pair of glasses. In order to eliminate undesired effects, such as brightness and other external influences, the conventional carrier devices typically have a frame, which is formed as a tunnel or tube section. This frame has a curved surface area on the one end that is used to place the frame on the head of the user and has a bracket on the other end, that holds the electronic display unit. The electronic display unit has a screen that is approximately the size of a hand. An optical converging lens is placed between the front face of the frame that fits against the user's head and the rear face that has the holder or retainer for the device. This is done to reduce the length of the tube section, i.e., the length of the frame, to a manageable size. The user of the screen can then view the electronic display unit from a relatively short distance without difficulty, for example, at a distance of maximal fifteen cm, and particularly, at a distance of three to eight cm from the user's eye.
One of the difficulties of the conventional display unit is that the user has to use one or both hands to hold the display unit in a position for viewing. Even if only one hand is needed to hold the display unit in the viewing range, and the user has the other hand available for operating the controls, this presents a significant reduction in the ability of the user to use all control possibilities that would otherwise be available, if both hands were free. Game consoles are frequently constructed such, that both hands are used to operate the controls. Even with game controls for games played on a PC, whereby the controls are operated via the keyboard, control functions are applied to keys on the keyboard, such that the user uses both hands for the controls.